This blog is dedicated to treating everyone - clients, prospects, friends, and family - as valuable partners. We should show them our gratitude through all our actions, including our marketing.

October 5, 2014

Fun

Those of you who know me understand that I believe that everyone should
have fun in everything that we all do, including work as well as play. If we
are not having fun each and every day, we should take a look at whatever it is
that we are doing and fix the problem of the lack of fun. If we all are having
fun each and every day, we are doing something that is good for us as well as for
everyone else.

If our business is fun for us, and for our employees and our co-workers,
is it fun for our clients? Does our customer base believe that their day is
richer or more enjoyable for having done business with us? It doesn’t matter
how much their purchase from us makes their lives better. When they come to us
and make a purchase, does that process makes them feel better, smile, maybe
laugh, and believe that they enjoyed the process? Do they have fun?

It doesn’t matter what we have available for our prospects. It doesn’t
even matter if they make a purchase or not. Do they enjoy engaging in the
buying process with us? Is the process fun, or does it brighten their day? Of
course, if they actually make a purchase from us, our day is brighter and we
enjoy the process more, but just the interaction should be enjoyable and even
fun for both parties. That should be true even if no purchase is made.

Do our employees or co-workers have fun? Do we as business people have
fun during each and every day? If not, why not? Maybe we should take a look at
our operations from the outside, like our customers and prospects do. Maybe we
should look at what our clients see and how it makes everyone feel. Perhaps we
should ask our clients, who give us repeat business, as well as our one-time customers,
what they see and experience.

Do our prospects enjoy the role of prospect or do they endure the
process, looking for the exit door from the buying experience? Does the one-time
customer grit their teeth, buy what they have to have, and get out of the
experience as quickly as possible? Asking them for their honest opinion would
be a good start to answering the question of why we are not having fun
ourselves.

One of the principles of Appreciation Marketing is to look at our business
processes from the viewpoint of the client or prospect. Only then can we
realistically see what we do and experience how it is for that person to do
business with us. Do we have the type of relationships with our prospects or clients
to gain that information in a usable format? Do our prospects or clients
believe that they can be honest with us?

How about our employees or co-workers? Do they have the
level of relationship that allows them to be honest and objective with us? Do
we have the type of relationship with ourselves to do the same? If all of us
aren’t having fun and enjoying our work, it becomes a death march to failure as
business people and as a business.

What do your clients and prospects have to say about your
business? Do they have fun in dealing with you? Do your co-workers or employees
have fun and enjoy the process of business with you? Do you? Does everyone,
including you, enjoy the buying process and experience, or do they endure it,
looking for it to end as soon as possible? Do you appreciate doing business
with you? Please leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com,
or call me at 360-314-8691.